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Photos taken near Alexandria

The barrage at Balloch

Submitted by Lairich Rig
Name The barrage at Balloch
Distance 0.10 miles from Alexandria
Description This is one of a total of eleven crossings of the River Leven, of which three cannot be used by pedestrians: (1) this barrage, which has a footpath on top behind locked gates; (2) the Black Bridge (The Black Bridge), which is closed; and (3) the railway bridge at Dumbarton. The eleven crossings therefore consist of ten bridges, and this barrage, which is not a bridge. Speaking of the Central Water Development Board, and their use of Loch Lomond in providing water for the central belt of Scotland, John Mitchell's book "Loch Lomondside" (in the New Naturalist series) mentions this barrage: "The Loch Lomond Water Scheme, which involved controlling the natural discharge from the loch by means of a barrage across the River Leven, was officially opened on 29 June 1971. Through its pumping station at Ross Priory on the loch's southern shore, the Board was given the authority to abstract up to 455 megalitres (100 million gallons) of water per day, providing the level of the loch does not fall below 6.7 m (22 ft) OD". ["OD" here refers to a standard, called Ordnance Datum Newlyn, which the Ordnance Survey use to express heights in Britain; see section 5.3 at the following site: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/gps/information/coordinatesystemsinfo/guidecontents/guide5.html ] See also: The northern side of the barrage at Balloch.
Photographer Lairich Rig

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